Triquetra Broken
by scrawn
Summary: As a demon seeks to destroy the Charmed Ones undetected, Paige is hurt and Phoebe and Piper are cast under a spell, causing Paige's worst nightmare to come to life.
1. Paige's Nightmare

**Triquetra Broken**

Summary: A demon is after the Charmed ones (haha no that's not the whole thing). To get to them, he hurts Paige and casts a spell on Phoebe and Piper. A spell that brings Paige's deepest fears to life.

Disclaimer: Charmed is not mine. Oh how I wish it was..

Hey guys! While this isn't my first fan fic (uhhh it's my third ever hehe) it's only the second one I've put on here and the first under this name (the other one was Animorphs yearrrrrrs ago : ) ). And I'm not fully up-to- date on everything Charmed (not my fault! I'm not allowed to watch it for some stupid reason but I'm trying to get that fixed) but I try my best and I read up on it all so if there are some little details (or big details) off, don't freak, but please also let me know: )

And just so you know, in this story, at the moment, I'm planning on it being before Leo became Head Elder, and Cole might even still be around (but the baby is here), but that might all change later. Gotta go with the flow and all! PLEASE review! But I hope you enjoy this : ) Yay Charmed!

scrawn

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Chapter One: Nightmare

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_"God Paige, can't you ever do anything right?" Piper scolded her half- sister._

_"Prue could have handled this," Phoebe chided. "But you're not Prue are you? You're just Paige. Just Paige. Paige. Paige!"_

Paige woke with a start to see Phoebe sitting next to her on the bed, shaking her to try to wake her up.

"Paige? Honey, are you okay?" Phoebe asked worriedly. Paige slowly sat up in the bed, still shaken from her recurrent nightmare.

"Yeah. Yeah it was just a nightmare," she replied. Phoebe still looked concerned.

"Must've been some nightmare. You were crying." Paige suddenly could taste the salty tears running down her face. She quickly wiped them away. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

_Phoebe and Piper think I faced that fear when Barbas came. They'd never understand that I still worry about this sometimes. I can't tell Phoebe._ "No, I'm okay." Paige groaned when she saw the time on the clock. "I gotta go, I'm gonna be late for a job interview." **(a/n: I don't know if Paige has gotten another job since she quit to get better at being a witch so.. ya)** She forced herself out of bed and out the door towards the bathroom.

"Good luck!" Phoebe called after her.

"Thanks!"

* * *

The demon paced back and forth in the not-so-cool depths of the Underworld. He was in human form: strong, but not grotesquely so, with green eyes and dark brown hair sleeked back against his head. Suddenly, a young woman shimmered in front of him.

"Trisa," he bowed as the name left his lips. The woman was beautiful; she was tall and had flowing deep red hair, but something about her just sung out 'evil'.

"Get up, Corathon," she commanded. He obeyed, but kept his eyes down as she continued speaking. "Have you found a way to destroy the witches?"

"I have."

"Well?"

"Our greatest chance lies in the youngest sister, Paige." As he spoke, a crystal ball-type image appeared next to the two evil beings. The scene was of a demon attacking the Charmed Ones. It played out and ended just like Paige's dream. "It is her greatest fear."

"So that's it? You come to me with a half-baked plan like that? Fool!" Trisa raised her hand as if she was about to strike Corathon with something. He stepped back and lowered his head.

"No, Trisa," he quickly stopped her. "I have a full plan. A plan that will diminish not only the powers of the witches, but the Charmed Ones themselves." Trisa slowly began to smile wickedly.

"Alright, Corathon. I will give you this chance. This plan of yours had better be good. The Power of Three must not live on."

"Yes, Trisa. I understand completely."

* * *

Sorry this one was really short, but I wanted to go ahead and get it posted to see if anyone will want me to keep writing. I'll do the next as soon as I finish writing it (won't take long) and get some feedback for this :) have a nice day! 


	2. Premonition

Okay muchos gracias for those reviews! 3 is good enough for me! Haha. So here's the next chapter. And don't worry, I plan on having at least average sized chapters, not short ones like the first one, that was just to get it going. And if anybody has any suggestions, ideas, or anything they wanna see happen, feel free to leave it in a review :) Alright, onward!

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Chapter Two: Premonition

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Piper hurriedly shut the oven door and set the timer. No sooner had she done that when the tea kettle started whistling a high-pitched note. Right then, Phoebe appeared (not magically) in the kitchen. 

"Piper shut it off!" Phoebe covered her ears as she whined to her sister. Piper was already on it and the kettle was off the stove by the time Phoebe had finished complaining. "Ugh, thanks." She took a look around the kitchen. "So how's everything for the fundraiser coming?" P3 was hosting a charity auction/bake sale that evening and Piper was getting some of the things ready at the Halliwell home.

"Not so good," Piper moaned. "I told them I would bake ten batches of cookies. We're almost out of flour and I've only made four so far."

"I can run out and get you some if you need me to. I'm taking the day off work," offered Phoebe.

"No, that's okay. I asked Paige to stop off at the store and get a couple bags on her way home from her interview. Is she home yet? She left about two hours ago." A loud wail was heard from the living room as baby Wyatt started crying. Piper threw up her hands in exasperation and went to go calm her son. Phoebe followed her.

"Uh, no, I never heard her come in," Phoebe answered over the infant's screams. Right on cue, the front door opened and slammed shut.

"Hey guys, I'm home," came Paige's voice. The sisters turned around to face the youngest Halliwell. "Man that baby's got quite a pair of lungs."

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ came the oven timer from the kitchen, causing Wyatt to cry even louder and more forcefully.

"What? The cookies can't be done yet!" Piper exclaimed. She was obviously very frustrated as she went to go shut the timer off. She came back a few seconds later with no decrease in sound. "It won't shut off!"

"Maybe it's a demon?" Phoebe suggested.

"Yeah, Phoebe, the great big scary oven demon coming to attack us," the oldest sister retorted sarcastically as she picked up Wyatt, whose baby voice was more deafening than ever. "I'm never going to get anything done around here!" She was obviously very frustrated with all that was going on. "Paige, please tell me you remembered to pick up the flour!"

"Flour?" Paige questioned. "What flour?

"The flour I asked you to pick up? For the cookies? For the bake sale?" Paige still looked confused. "Oh God, Paige, I just ask you to do this one simple thing for me and you don't even remember!"

"I-," Paige started to defend herself.

"Now I have to go out and get it myself and there's no way I'm gonna finish all this in time! Thanks, Paige!" Wyatt's bawling increased. "If this baby will ever stop crying!"

Paige looked a bit hurt as she wordlessly grabbed her jacket and walked right back out the manor door. Wyatt's screaming started to calm down. Phoebe looked at Piper.

"Piper. Don't you think that was a little harsh?" she asked her sister.

"Yeah, I didn't mean to sound so angry with her." Piper seemed more relaxed now that Wyatt had quieted. "I'm just really frustrated with the cookies, and this fundraiser, and now the timer and Wyatt. Wait, the timer's not going off anymore is it?" Both girls listened for a quick second, their ears still ringing from all the noise their home had held moments earlier.

"No, it's not. How weird is that?" Phoebe agreed.

"Weird or not weird, I'm just thankful it stopped!" Piper put Wyatt back in his crib. "Well, I have enough flour left for one batch of cookies and then I have to run out to the store. I wish Paige could have just remembered!"

"Don't worry about it, honey, I'll go get some for you. Just stay here and bake."

"Thanks, Phoebe. At least I can count on one sister," Piper half-joked.

* * *

Hours later, the music pounded in Paige's ears as she sat at the bar in a club that wasn't her sister's. After she had left home, she had driven around the city for awhile, just thinking. When it started getting dark, she had driven past this night club, and it had seemed to be calling to her, so she went in. 

"Hey there," a man's voice came from her right. Paige turned and saw a handsome stranger sitting on the stool next to her **(a/n: yes it is the demon guy just so you know! Dum dum dum!). **"Can I buy you a drink?" Paige had already turned down three or four offers in the time that she'd been there, but for some reason found she couldn't resist this guy.

"Only if you tell me your name," she replied. He grinned.

"Greg Sampson. And you are…?"

"Paige. Paige Matthews."

"Well Paige," Greg began. "Thank you for making this evening out worthwhile. A chance meeting with such a beautiful lady; what a lucky guy I am." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. She was obviously very taken in by this stranger. "Would you like to dance?"

"I thought you were going to buy me a drink?" she teased him.

"Let's get you a reason to be thirsty first," he whispered in her ear. Greg took her hand again and they entered the dance floor to be lost in the crowd.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want any more help cleaning up?" Melissa, one of P3's waitresses asked Piper as she put on her jacket to leave. 

"Go ahead and go, I'll be fine here," Piper told her.

"Alright, goodnight."

"'Night," Piper called as Melissa walked out the door. As the door closed behind the young woman, Piper sighed and sat down on one of the bar stools. Her club had been pretty busy tonight between first the auction and then later, the regulars that came just to party.

_I think I should call Phoebe and see if Paige has gotten home yet,_ Piper thought, remembering how they had last left things before Paige left. She hadn't meant to yell like that, and she hated it when she wasn't on the best of terms with one of her sisters. So she picked up the phone and dialed the home phone.

"Hello?" Phoebe's voice came over the phone.

"Hey, Pheebs, it's Piper. Has Paige gotten home yet?"

"No," Phoebe responded. "She's still out. I'm getting a little worried, Piper. It's-" she checked the clock. "almost twelve. She's been gone for over ten hours and we haven't heard anything from her. It doesn't seem like Paige to not even call after being gone so long." Piper felt a small twinge of fear, but ignored it. She didn't really think anything had happened to her baby sister, but even if she had, she couldn't let Phoebe know she was afraid.

"Phoebe, I'm sure she's fine, don't worry. She's probably just out partying or something. Have you tried her cell?" she asked instead.

"Yeah, it's not on. Listen Piper, what if-" Phoebe gasped suddenly as she was drawn into a premonition.

_Paige. Dancing with a handsome stranger at an unfamiliar club. Switch over to a dark alley. The same man approaches Paige from behind and turns into a demon, preparing to attack her. Paige again. Laying in that alley, unmoving, clothes torn, bloody and bruised._

"Phoebe?" Now Piper was starting to get concerned. "Phoebe?" She heard her sister gasp again as she came out of her vision. It took her a minute to process what she had seen so she could tell Piper.

"Oh my God, Piper!" Phoebe was frantic and on the verge of tears. "I saw Paige. She was dancing with some guy at a club. Then she was in an alley, and the same guy turned into a demon and he-he attacked her. I don't think she was dead, but she was hurt really bad."

"Has it already happened?" Piper asked, trying so hard to keep herself under control. She didn't want anything to happen to either of her sisters, and especially after the way she had left things with Paige…she would never be able to forgive herself if Paige…if she…

"No. Not yet. But Piper, I have no idea where it was! I didn't recognize anything!"

"Okay um, we can call Leo and he can-" Phoebe cut her off.

"Leo left with Wyatt earlier. He said the Elders wanted to see the baby. He won't be back for a couple days. He didn't want to bother you at the club because he knew you were preoccupied."

"Oh God. Okay, Phoebe, can you remember anything you saw at this club or on the street, anything?" Piper quickly asked.

"Umm," Phoebe thought. "Well...okay, there was a statue of some kind in the club. A, uh, it was a red devil with a pitchfork."

"I know where that is! The Hotspot. Come by here and pick me up so I can show you how to get there."

"Okay I'll be there in a few minutes." Phoebe hung up. _Please don't let anything happen to Paige. Please._

_

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Okay that's it for chapter two! I wanted to make it even longer, but I ran outta time cuz I gotta leave for my cousin's graduation party in about 15 minutes. I might not get the next chapter posted today, but I will try for later tonite if I can! Reviews very very welcome :)


	3. Devil in Disguise

Oh my gosh I would've had this out earlier, sorry! But I was typing it up on my mom's computer, which is out in the kitchen (sounds weird, I know, but the way our house is set up, it's not :) ) and then my mom came in and I freaked (cuz-get this- I'm not allowed to watch Charmed! Craziness it sucks! That's why I'm behind on the show cuz I am having to download the episodes and that takes forever and I rarely get a chance to watch them) and x-ed it out on accident and lost all that I had typed so yeah ugh sorry. Then I had finals. Then I got sick. But here it is now! And I got out of school today for the summer so I'll have more time. Sorry it's short again! I PROMISE next time it will be longer!

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Chapter Three: Devil in Disguise

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Paige was smiling as she walked towards her car at the close of the night. _Maybe I've finally met Mr. Right, _she thought hopefully. Paige had been a little surprised when Greg didn't ask her to come back to his place after they had finally finished dancing and talking; they had seemed to hit it off so well. But her fear of his rejection had been quickly distinguished when Greg had asked for her number, promising to call the next day. _And besides,_ she reasoned with herself. _Greg is too much of a gentleman to try to sleep with me even before our first real date._ Boy, she sure couldn't wait to get home to tell her sisters about him. Including Piper. _She was just under a lot of stress, she didn't really mean what she said. _ And Paige believed that, too.

As the youngest Charmed One continued on, she felt a slight shiver run up her spine. _I wish I hadn't had to park so far away! _ The club had been packed when she first got there, making it impossible to find a decent place to park. She looked to her left. _Ooh and that alley doesn't help with the whole scary factor._

Suddenly, Paige jumped as she became aware of a hand on her shoulder and barely managed to keep herself from orbing. She whirled around.

"Greg," she sighed in relief as she saw his familiar face. "You scared the hell out of me!" He smiled sheepishly. _Oh that smile._

"Sorry Paige, I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that," he apologized. "But you left your keys at the bar." Greg held up a set of keys. Paige reached up and took them from him.

"Thanks. I guess I was just too busy having a good time to worry about such unimportant details," she flirted. They held each other's gaze for a few moments. "Well, I should get going. Call me okay?"

"Of course." Paige turned to leave. "Paige, wait." Greg grabbed her arm and she twirled back around to face him again. "There's something I need to tell you. Over here." He led her about halfway into the alley Paige had noticed moments earlier.

"What is it Greg?" Paige asked worriedly. _He's gonna say he's married isn't he? Or dying. Maybe he has AIDs. Ugh why is everything that happens to me too good to be true?_ She was too busy with these paranoid thoughts to react before she felt Greg's fist connect with her cheekbone. The force knocked her off her feet and she fell against the dumpster next to her. Paige's head throbbed at the impact and she could feel a trickle of blood making its way down the side of her face. As her vision began to clear, she looked up at Greg and saw him transform into a great big, ugly demon.

"Oh God," Paige whispered and tried to orb out of there.

Nothing happened.

She tried again. Still nothing. "Baseball bat," she called, noticing the broken bat a few feet away. It stayed put. Greg/demon laughed.

"Don't try to use your powers, Paige. I didn't buy you a drink to be polite. Can't have you just orbing out on me, now can I?"

"Greg why are you doing this?" Paige had to ask, even though she knew the answer already.

"I'm not Greg, I am Corathon. And I have been ordered to destroy the Charmed Ones. And you Paige, you're the weakest link." It wasn't until then that Paige really managed to get a good look at the demon the seemingly wonderful man she had just recently met turned into. He was a dark shade of green; taller and much stronger than he had been in his human form. Corathon had horns protruding from his head, wrists, and ankles and he had nothing but a black trench coat on, much like Belthazor's.

Paige started trying to get up, and was halfway there when Corathon kicked her hard in the ribs and she thudded back down, wheezing. She thought she had heard a rib crack, but she wasn't sure. _Well, if it did, it didn't puncture a lung at least. _ Paige was preparing to try standing again when she felt Corathon's strong hands pin her shoulders down to the ground. She started to struggle but the horns jutting out from this monster's wrists sliced into her, causing her to cry out in pain.

"Stay still witch!" he growled fiercely. Paige noticed now that he no longer was wearing the coat that had covered his demonic body before. _Didn't know demons had such huge- _ she subconsciously thought. As this hit her, the honest realization of what was about to happen hit her head on. This man-no, this demon that she had once thought was a man, was going to take her. Desecrate her. Do what should never be done to anyone. And she, Paige Matthews the Charmed One, with all her magical powers that she possessed and had used to save so many lives, was powerless to stop him.

Paige lost it.

"No get off of me! Please, Greg, Corathon whoever you are! Don't do this! Please!" She was hitting him, but her fists had little impact on a demon of his stature. He just laughed. Laughed as he watched her screams wear down into incoherent sobs. His huge demon hands ripped off her shirt and pants and followed up that action by roaming roughly and mercilessly over her fragile body. Paige whimpered and cried, but he didn't care. Why would he? And then, in one striking blow, he rammed into her with all the force he could muster. Paige' body constricted for a few seconds as the shock came and she couldn't move or feel a thing. But then he pulled all of him out of her and she was jolted into the overwhelming pain. He continued this pattern and the youngest Charmed One could feel herself being torn apart, physically as well as mentally and emotionally.

And then finally, after what seemed to Paige like an eternity but could have been no more than twenty minutes, the demon withdrew himself one last time and stood back up. By this time, Paige was tired - oh so tired, and sweating profusely yet shivering uncontrollably. Her body was crying out in such protest that she couldn't believe she had managed to stay conscious for all of that time. _Cruel._

"Phase one is complete," he smiled evilly, both to himself and the wreck of a girl he had just made. She looked up at him, fear and pain obvious in her eyes. "Oh come now Paige, you're taking one for the team, that's all. Won't your sisters be proud of you?"

_Oh God, my sisters. What will they think of me now? How can I ever tell them?_

Corathon grabbed Paige by the throat and pulled her to her feet. Her body stayed limp even though he now had her upright. He continued lifting her until she dangled above the ground at his eye level. He squeezed until at last Paige felt the welcoming darkness consume her mind as she slipped into oblivion. She was unaware as Corathon carelessly threw her unconscious form back down to the ground and shimmered back to the depths of the cold, unfeeling Underworld. All she knew was that she was safe in her mind as she couldn't feel.

And in the dark, she could feel nothing.

* * *

Okay next time Piper and Phoebe will find her! Ooh buuuut...(yes there is a but, but you will just have to review and find out!) 


	4. Finding

So y'all hear about those Charmed action figures coming out in spring 2004? That's so great! I can't wait! (haha hey wow that rhymed!) Oh and hey, if anyone lives in Houston Texas or near Mankato, Minnesota and knows a place to get either the old or new Charmed trading cards, if you could tell me, I would love that. Cuz I've talked to some of the comic book stores around here and no one seems to carry them so I'm gonna check when we visit my grandparents in Minnesota, but it'd be nice to know if anyone's got any clues. Well, enough blabbering! Here's chapter four!

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Chapter Four: Finding

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Piper paced up and down the walkway in front of P3 as she waited for her sister to come pick her up. She was so worried about Paige she was having trouble thinking logically. If anything happened to her baby sister it would be her fault. Why did I have to get so upset at her! She didn't even do anything! I'm such a horrible sister! Just please, please let Paige be okay! Let us get to her in time. Don't let anything happen to my sister! The oldest Halliwell looked up suddenly as she heard a vehicle coming towards her. The car stopped in front of her and Phoebe got out.

"C'mon, you're driving," Phoebe told her as she hopped into the passenger's seat. Piper didn't waste anytime doing as Phoebe instructed, and in less than a minute they were back on the road, headed towards the spot from the premonition.

"Piper?" Phoebe started. "What if we're too late? What if whatever that was already got to Paige? What if I misinterpreted what I saw and Paige is dead?" Piper sucked in a quick breath.

"Honey don't worry, Paige will be fine, Paige IS fine," Piper told her, trying to soothe her own fears as well as her sister's.

"But-"

"Nuh uh, no buts. Nothing is going to happen to Paige. Nothing."

* * *

"Nicely done, Corathon," Trisa approved as the demon, once more disguised as a man, reappeared in front of her after his "session" with Paige. "So far. When will the next step of your plan be put into action?"

"Soon, my liege," he bowed. "Not quite yet, but very soon. I want the witches to feel the pain when they see their sister before I…complete what has to be done."

"And then?" she prompted.

"And then the Charmed Ones will be weakened. Weakened eventually to the point of destruction." He smiled an evil, conniving smile. "Don't worry, it won't take long. No amount of time compared to how long the Underworld has been waiting for the witches to be disposed of."

"Good. Very, very good." She pulled him closer to her. "Or should I say…bad?"

* * *

"That's it right there!" Phoebe shouted. "That's the club!" Piper was already parking when Phoebe announced her discovery. The two Charmed Ones quickly got out of the car and went towards the door of the club.

"It's closed," Piper pronounced slowly. Fear that she had been suppressing for Phoebe's sake began to overwhelm her at this realization. "Oh God Phoebe, he's already gotten to her! What are we going to do? This is all my fault!" Piper was sobbing now and Phoebe didn't know what to do. She thought her big sister would be able to keep her cool and that she would be the one to lose it, but it looked like it would have to be the other way around. There couldn't be two useless Halliwells or Paige would never get found.

"Leo!" Phoebe demanded. She waited. "Leo!"

"Leo!" echoed Piper. "Dammit where are you?"

"Okay, uh, we're gonna have to do this ourselves Piper. Think. You said you've been here before, are there any alleys nearby?" Phoebe pressed. Piper was silent for a moment as she thought.

"Yeah, I had to park far away and I passed an alley when I was going back to my car. It's down that way." She pointed in the same direction Paige had headed off in earlier that night **(A/N: well…morning, but that sounds weird since it's still dark)**. Both of them started that way at a hurried pace.

"Paige?" Phoebe called as they went. "Paige? Are you here? Piper, is that it?" Piper looked to where Phoebe was indicating.

"Yeah, that's the alley," she confirmed, more collected now.

"Maybe we're not too late. Let's go." Phoebe and Piper made it to the alley and looked around. "I don't see Paige anywhere. Maybe she's not here yet?"

"Or maybe the demon brought her with him," Piper suggested wryly, the position of negative sister having been switched to her after her outburst at the doors of the club.

"No," Phoebe negated as she walked on further into the alley. "No, my premonition specifically showed Paige lying here after the demon attacked. She was alone and it looked like the demon had left at least-" She stopped in the middle of her sentence as she saw what both she and Piper had feared so greatly they would find. "Paige," she whispered. "Oh no. Oh, God no. Piper!"

Piper knew by the fear in her little sister's voice that she had found Paige and it wasn't good, but she still wasn't prepared for what she saw when she came to the other side of that dumpster. Piper gasped as she took in the condition of her unconscious baby sister. Paige's breathing was ragged and strained; a dark crimson color stained her normally light red hair as if she had gotten thrown into a wall; a deep violet bruise was forming on the side of her face and there were more, ugly, brownish-green bruises circling her neck. But the first thing Piper had noticed about Paige was what tore her heart out and stomped it into a thousand pieces. Her sister's shirt had been viciously torn down the front and her pants had been carelessly tossed to the side. And Piper knew. Piper instinctively knew that this demon had taken the fight between good and evil farther than any creature they had ever battled had dared consider. And he had done it to Paige. Her poor innocent baby sister who didn't deserve any of it.

"Leo!" Piper was drawn out of her catatonic state of shock by Phoebe's again trying to yell for their whitelighter. "Leo! LEO! Dammit Piper where IS he?" The oldest looked at Phoebe, who had drawn Paige up to her body and was cradling her closely, as if that would somehow make everything go away.

"I- I don't know Phoebe." Piper was operating on automatic now, trying to stay in control like she'd been trying before. For Phoebe's sake. "Maybe we should just...we should just call the hospital." She robotically took out her cell phone and dialed 911, telling them what the emergency was and where they were, with Phoebe's endless crying and talking to Paige in the background of the unpleasant conversation.

"Is she gonna be okay Piper? Tell me she'll be okay." Piper sat down on the ground next to her two sisters. She put one hand to rubbing Phoebe's back and the other to stroking Paige's hair in the monotonous way Piper was dealing with this in.

"Everything will be fine, Phoebe. Everything will be fine."

In the near distance, sirens could be heard coming towards the unresponsive trio. Soon, an ambulance screeched to a halt at the opening of the alley. Four paramedics rushed out, two of them carrying a stretcher. Piper stood up to meet them

"Paige Halliwell?" one of the others asked. She nodded.

"That's her. That's our sister."

"Ma'am, we need to take your sister to the hospital so we can fix her up, okay?" another paramedic was trying to coax Phoebe to let go of Paige, but she was clinging to her like life support. Finally, she relented and let them lift Paige onto the stretcher. "One of you can ride along with her." Phoebe looked over at Piper.

"Go ahead and go," Piper told her. "I'll bring the car and meet you there." Phoebe nodded and followed them back to the ambulance.

Piper stared as the ambulance turned its siren back on and drove back to it's origin to try to save her sister's life. As the image of it faded into the beginning of the sunrise, Piper dropped back down to the ground where drops of Paige's blood still remained, and she cried. And cried. And cried. Till there were no tears left. After all, she couldn't let herself break down again in front of Phoebe. She had to be strong. Even if on the inside, her heart wept for Paige. Wept for herself, and for all her sister, and everything they had lost. Because they were witches. Because they were different.

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Okay okay so I know I said there was a but, but I didn't get to it in this chapter, so probably the next. And I know I said it would be longer. I don't think it was, but maybe it was. But anyway, this chapter just seemed to tell me it needed to stop here, you know? So yes, please review: ) I love it when ya do that. Hehe 


	5. Beginning to the End

Man I totally hate myself. I've become one of those writers on here that I have always scorned: the Ones Who Never Update. dun dun dun! I am very sorry to everyone who has been reading this! I will try harder. It's not that I've abandoned either fan fiction or Charmed, because that would just be stupid of me! In fact, I'm here on this site every single day definitely multiple times and I never miss an episode of Charmed. I'm just a) lazy and b) have writer's block. But I am gonna sit down, finish this story, and start some more! (But it would be super cool if y'all would tell me what you wanna see happen, either in here or in another story. Cuz I have no clue where I'm gonna go with this. Thanks!)

Oh and just a quick note, I wanted to remind you guys that this story is over a year old, so nothing from either season 6 or 7 happened, which means there was never any Chris, and Leo and Piper didn't break up. Maybe I'll work some of that into it, who knows. I certainly don't!

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Chapter Five: Beginning to the End

* * *

Piper ran into the emergency room, frantically searching for any sign of either of her sisters. She finally spotted Phoebe, who was anxiously tapping her foot while sitting with her head in her hands.

"Phoebe!" Piper called out. The middle Halliwell sister looked up, her eyes bloodshot and her mascara running down her cheeks. She got up and the two met halfway across the waiting room.

"They took her away when we got here," Phoebe sobbed into the comforting embrace of her older sibling. "They won't tell me anything. Anything! Piper..." she trailed off, too choked up.

Just at that moment, a doctor walked in, the words "Paige Matthews?" forming a question as he looked around **(a/n: don't you just love how the doc always seems to come in RIGHT THEN :-p)**. Both girls looked up and caught his attention.

"How is she? What's going on?" Piper demanded, worried.

"Miss Matthews suffered head trauma, a broken rib, as well as some other less harsh damage to various parts of her body," the doctor explained. "She's all bruised up and we have her on medication to lessen the pain, but she'll be just fine." Piper withheld from glaring at the stranger who dared insinuate her baby sister would be fine after what she had just gone through.

"Is she awake?" Phoebe questioned. "Can we see her?"

"She's still unconscious, but you can go see her if you'd like, she's in room 311, down that hallway over there," he pointed, but the sisters were already headed that way.

They reached the room and Phoebe slowly pushed open the door, worried at what she might find. _No_, she thought. _Nothing could be worse than seeing her the way we did in that alley_.

Paige was lying in the hospital bed, her arm hooked up to the traditional IV. She looked so pale and so fragile, and where she should have had a peaceful expression while she slept, a twisted look of pain and hurt seemed frozen across her features, especially in her eyes.

Phoebe took one glance at her only little sister, beaten and bruised, and started crying again.

"Piper, I'm going...I'm going to get some..." she didn't even finish her attempted excuse as she backed out of the room. Piper let out a deep breath she hadn't known she had been holding. She understood what Phoebe was feeling; God only knew she didn't want to see her newest sister in this condition, but she had to stay strong. Paige and Phoebe both would need her now. Especially when Paige woke up. And she was determined to be right by her side when that happened.

That thought in mind, Piper pulled a chair beside the hospital bed Paige was trapped in. She reached out and took the younger girl's hand in her own. Paige flinched in her sleep at the touch, and Piper felt her heart squeeze at the unconscious show of fear. _Paigey girl, what happened back there?_ It was a question Piper knew she would think a lot, but didn't know if she'd have the strength to actually ask it when the time came.

"Paige," she whispered. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I am so sorry. I'm sorry for saying what I said to you this morning, I'm sorry for not looking out for you like I should have, I'm so sorry this happened to you..." Piper choked. "If this is what it means, that something like this could happen to you, I'm sorry you're my sister."

* * *

_Isn't that Piper's voice? What's going on?_ Paige thought. She tried to wake herself up, but it wasn't working. She could feel a hand gripping her own and realized it had to be her oldest sister's. But wait. What had the voice of her beloved sister said? She struggled to remember. She needed something to hold on to.

* * *

As soon as her last comment escaped her lips, something came over Piper. A feeling...a feeling of...anger. Why was she sitting here caring for the stupid girl who came and took the place of Prue, her real sister? This girl who had caused way more trouble for her and Phoebe than Piper wanted to deal with. She looked down at Paige with disgust. _What a whore. I bet she knew that guy was a demon all along. She wanted him. And then she just wanted us to think it wasn't her fault so we'd feel sorry for her and accept her. NOT gonna happen, Paige. Think again._ And Piper snapped back her hand, eliminating any contact between herself and the broken girl lying before her, and walked out of the room, head high, with better things to do with her time than this.

* * *

Paige shuddered internally as she felt the connection between her and Piper closed. She felt...alone. So alone. Just like before. In the alley. In the kitchen. In the last twenty-some years of her life.

And then she remembered. Piper's words.

"_I'm sorry you're my sister."

* * *

_

Okay! That's all for this chapter! Hope it's okay? Don't worry about the Piper thing. I love all the Charmed Ones and I don't think any of them are evil. If you haven't figured it out already what's going on, you will soon. I PROMISE THIS TIME:-D (Hold me up to that...)


	6. Left Behind

Chapter Six: Left Behind

* * *

"Piper?" Phoebe looked up as she saw her oldest sister coming towards her. She was still sitting in the hospital waiting room, too disturbed by the state she had last seen her baby sister in to go back into that room.

"Listen," Piper said in a casual voice as she approached the now-middle Halliwell. "I need to be back at the manor in case Leo orbs back with Wyatt early. Are you ready to go? My car is still at P3 so I need a ride."

Phoebe looked at her, stunned. "B-but, Piper…what about Paige?"

"Oh c'mon Phoebe, it's not like we're doing any good just sitting around here watching her. She's unconscious for crying out loud. And besides, we have our own lives. It's after 3am, don't you have work in four hours?" Piper shifted her purse on her shoulder impatiently.

"Work? Piper, how the hell can you think of work right now?" Phoebe was baffled, why was her sister saying these things? "Paige is lying in that awful room unconscious, and God only knows what happened to her before then! How can you not want to be here for her when she wakes up?"

Piper sighed in exasperation. "Because I have a _family_ to take care of, Phoebe! I have a son that needs to be home with his mother, not be ignored and left behind because that stupid slut went and got herself pushed around a little!"

Phoebe's jaw all but dropped to the floor. Before she might have thought maybe Piper was just putting up a shield, focusing her mind on other things so she wouldn't have to deal with the pain of realizing what Paige had been through. But this…those words…how could Piper say that? How could she even _think_ that?

"Oh forget it, Phoebe," Piper rolled her eyes when her sister didn't say anything, just stood there looking at her. "I'll just take a cab." She turned around and started walking towards the exit.

"Piper!" Phoebe yelled out after she broke out of her trance. "Wait!" She started running after her. Still obviously exasperated, Piper turned on her heel sharply.

"What is it?"

"I can't-" Phoebe stopped in her tracks. Why was she staying here? Piper was right, she _did_ have work tomorrow after all. And her job was really important to her. Definitely more important than staying at this nasty hospital all night with her overly-needy half-sister who probably wouldn't wake up anyway. And even if Paige did wake up, so what? It was time she learned that the whole world didn't revolve around her and the messes she kept making for herself.

"I can't find a reason to stay here any longer either, you're right," she finished.

"Good," Piper nodded her head. "Let's go."

* * *

Below them, Corathon stood, eyes closed, head bowed, as Trisa watched intently. Suddenly, his head snapped up and his eyes shone evil, focused on something only he could see.

"It has begun."

* * *

haha. i actually updated.

:-P


	7. Waking Up

Her ears were the first part of her to come back to life, the incessant beeping of machinery and voices on intercoms in the hallway penetrating the silence she had become accustomed to in her unconscious state. Her eyes followed, and when they opened, the stark white walls that could only belong in a hospital greeted her.

"Miss Matthews?"

Paige blinked and turned her head slightly to the sound of the voice. A man was standing over her, dressed in a white coat and scribbling something down on a clipboard.

"My name is Dr. Traver. You may be feeling a little woozy; we gave you some medicine to help you sleep," he gently told her.

"Wha-" Paige started to ask, but then suddenly seemed to recall the events of the previous night. A mixture of shock and distress overtook her face as she closed her eyes against the torrent of memories that were flooding in. "My – my sisters, where are my sisters?" she managed to get out.

"They were here earlier, they probably just stepped out to take care of some things. I'm sure they'll be back soon." He put her chart back down. "Now, I have other patients to take care of, but if you need anything, just press that button over there and a nurse will come help you, okay?" She nodded, and the doctor left the room.

Paige leaned back against the pillows, at a loss with how to even begin to deal with what had happened – what _was_ happening, as she was sure the demon that attacked her was still out there. Her body began to tremble and she finally let loose the tears that she held back while Dr. Traver had still been in the room. Sobs racked her body until finally she began to fall back into slumber.

_Piper, Phoebe, I need you_.

* * *

"Piper!" Leo called frantically. "Piper!" 

"I'm right here!" the eldest Charmed one exclaimed, hurrying down the stairs. "Calm down." She reached him and took their son from him. "Now what did you need?"

"I can't sense you. Or Phoebe, or Paige," he told her worriedly. "Something's wrong."

"You can't sense us?" Piper asked. "Do the Elders know what could have done this?"

Leo shook his head. "Either they don't or they just wouldn't say."

Piper rolled her eyes. "As if being a Charmed One isn't hard enough without THEM refusing to help out from time to time." She set Wyatt down in his playpen. "Let's go check the Book of Shadows, see if there's some kind of demon or spell or...something that could have done this. Phoebe!" she yelled towards the dining room, where Phoebe was working on her column. "Attack!"

"Coming!" Phoebe called back, begrudgingly.

The trio reached the attic and made their way over to the book.

"Alright then, we'll just have a look through here and..." Phoebe stopped.

"And...what?" Piper asked.

"Uh oh."

"Uh oh...what oh?" Piper and Leo both moved over to see what had stopped Phoebe mid-sentence.

"The triquetra," Leo started. "It's broken."

* * *

er...I suck for not updating. I know. No excuses. _cowers_


	8. Blame

To my lovely reviewers –

**WyaRose **– thank you for pushing me to update the 7th chapter, and sorry it took another year to get out the 8th!

**Laby Anne Boleyn, paige25, charmedbaby11, paul, ilovepaige, **and **minako366** – I'm glad you guys are enjoying it, here's the next installment – finally!

**CardboardCreative **– you are far too kind. Thank you very much for your review, and I honestly do hope to get to write some fan fiction books some day! I'm majoring in screenwriting at school and minoring in dramatic literature so I suppose it's possible ;-)

**wiccanforever** – I know, I know! I swear on my life I will update at least 3 chapters before school starts up again, and hopefully finish soon after that!

**Leanne17** – yeah they aren't being very good sisters! Hopefully things will look up for Paige soon :) well….eventually anyway ;)

**Firemaiden100** – ah, you gave the year-after review that finally pushed me to update! Thanks! Hope you like this chapter!

And to anyone else who's reading…erm…sorry it took another year. Sigh. :-/

On with the story!

* * *

Chapter Eight: Blame

* * *

"How did this happen?" Leo paced back and forth in the attic, trying to procure an answer. "If a demon finds out the Power of Three is broken, it isn't going to take long for news to travel. You'll be wide open for any attacks. How did this _happen_?"

"Paige," Phoebe replied, her tone void of any emotion. Leo stopped.

"Paige?" He looked around. "Where is Paige anyway?"

"She was attacked," Piper informed him.

"What!" Leo exclaimed. "How? When? Is she hurt? Are you guys okay?" Piper waved her hand dismissively.

"She's at the hospital; they're taking care of it," Piper said. "Phoebe and I are fine. _We_don't go carelessly wandering around in the middle of the night. And even if we did, we would be able to take care of ourselves just fine, unlike our _sister_." Piper spat the last word out with such barely concealed venom that Leo had to force himself to believe he hadn't noticed her tone.

"I'm going to go see if I can heal her. You two stay here and out of trouble. When I come back I'll go check with the Elders to see if they know anything." He positioned himself to orb.

"No Leo, wait," Phoebe stopped him. "Paige is already at the hospital. If you go heal her now it will look too suspicious." He hesitated. "She's not in any life-threatening danger. We can deal with her later."

"Alright," Leo conceded. She had a point. "I'll just go talk to the Elders then. Stay here." And in a swirl of blue lights, he disappeared upwards.

* * *

The sounds of the hospital were starting to get to Paige. Constant beeping, overhead announcements from the hallway, and all the footsteps – light, casual steps from wary visitors and hurried, frantic steps from nurses and doctors being called to duty.

She leaned back against her pillow with a sight. At least she had her own room. She didn't think she could deal with a stranger's company right now. She certainly didn't want to.

But where were her sisters?

Paige had been awake for five hours and still no sign of Piper or Phoebe. Hadn't the doctor said they just stepped out for a moment? Surely they were worried about her!

Suddenly, as if someone had drenched her in ice cold water, she remembered Piper having been there earlier. And she remembered her saying…_no, she couldn't have said that could she? Piper loves me. Why would she tell me she wishes I wasn't…_Paige couldn't bring herself to finish the thought.

_But Greg, Corathon, whoever he was _– Paige shuddered and barely kept herself from collapsing into tears at the thought of him, and what he had done – _he told me my sisters wouldn't love me anymore. Well, not in those words, but, that's what he meant. Could that be true?_

"Oh my God," she gasped softly to herself. Her sisters were the Charmed Ones, the protectors against evil. They had stood up against so many horrible things and fought bravely and survived. And here, one demon and Paige hadn't been able to fight him off, had instead become a traumatized, useless wreck of a girl. _One demon,_ she thought bitterly.

No wonder her sisters weren't here to help her. She should have gotten out of this herself. How could she fail so miserably? _If I were Piper, I wouldn't want me for a sister either._

All the same, she knew she couldn't be stronger. She couldn't make it up to them. She didn't know how to go on, how to find it in herself to keep fighting after losing so much to the demon who had forever marked her as his own. Her body was broken, her mind was broken, her heart was broken. But the fact that her family wasn't there for her only made it harder.

_Don't you dare blame them_, she scolded herself. _You weren't good enough, and you can't expect them to just act like you are just because you got hurt._ _They have every right to be disappointed in me._

Paige touched her fingers gently to her forehead, bowing her face in shame even though nobody was there to hide from. How could she face them now? How could she go home? How could she even call the manor home?

She had been weak. She had gotten herself into this situation. She had proven she couldn't hold her own, and she didn't deserve to be a Charmed One. More than that, she didn't deserve to be a Halliwell.

* * *

"Look what she's done!" Piper raged after Leo had gone. "She's caused us to be unprotected, and without our powers. Leo can't even sense us if something goes wrong!"

"I know," Phoebe agreed. "We've got to find a way to fix this, fast."

"Well we never will if it depends on _Paige_," the eldest determined. "She's the one who got us into this mess to begin with."

"The Elders can't hold that against us!" Phoebe cried. "They are the ones who forced her on us; she messes up – not our fault. They have to fix this."

"What if they can't?" Piper questioned. "What if they won't? The Elders aren't exactly the most reliable higher powers."

"They need the Power of Three," responded Phoebe.

"The Power of Two, you mean," Piper muttered. "We haven't been the Power of Three since Prue died."

* * *

Blue orbs appeared as Leo materialized in front of the Elders.

"Leo." The greeting was grave.

"You know what's going on," Leo stated more than questioned. "What happened to the Power of Three? The girls can't protect themselves or innocents without their powers."

"We don't know what has happened, or who is behind it," a woman Elder told him regretfully. "All we know is that Paige was attacked, and several hours later the sisters' powers were gone."

"Do you think the attack is connected?" Leo asked.

"It's possible," another Elder confirmed. "But we don't know."

"No, of course you don't." The last comment was more to himself than the white-robed angels before him.

"But," the Elder who had greeted him began, "we do know that with Paige incapacitated the Charmed Ones are even more vulnerable than they would be even without their powers."

"Incapacitated?" Leo shot the man a confused look. "Piper and Phoebe said she was in the hospital, but that she was fine."

Now it was the Elders' turns to look surprised.

"They didn't tell you what happened?" one asked him.

"Paige was attacked, I couldn't sense her, they took her to the hospital, and she's fine," he insisted, that being all he knew.

"And the eldest Charmed Ones didn't seem concerned?"

"I _told_ you, they said she's fine! Why would they be concerned if she's fine?" Leo reiterated for the third time.

The female Elder stepped forward and put her hands on Leo's shoulders. She looked him straight in the eyes. He couldn't help but notice the worried look her face held.

"Go to Paige, Leo. Get to the bottom of this."

He hesitated for a moment, and then dissolved into a blur of orbs once again. The Elder who had spoken to him stepped back among her peers.

"There may be more to this than we thought."

* * *

mmph. i updated? don't kill me? 


	9. Leo and Paige

My loves!:

CardboardCreative: I know, it was crazy. And now it's happening again! ...another year later...  
charmedbaby11: well good. All socks could use a good rockin' now and again!  
minako366: here you go? heh?  
wiccanforever: i think leo is safe – teh angst can run rampant even without him under the spell :-P  
charmedfan0102: this is true. I appreciate it grinz  
Laby Anne Boleyn: poor Paigey :(  
Firemaiden100: sure thing! Hope you like this one too  
cellochick003: haha i'm glad! And w00t for natalia fics. seriously, there needs to be more!  
Chickabilly: I appreciate the offer, but keep your laptop! Write some stories for ME to read :)  
charmed-darkangel: here here here here!! :)

* * *

Recap (as much for me as for you guys...):

Chapter 1 – Paige had nightmares about her sisters hating her; Corathon and Trisa begin scheming  
Chapter 2 – Piper and Paige fight; Paige meets "Greg" aka Corathon; Phoebe has a premonition  
Chapter 3 – Corathon reveals his true form and rapes Paige  
Chapter 4 – Piper and Phoebe find Paige; Leo doesn't answer so they take her to a hospital  
Chapter 5 – Piper and Phoebe wait in the hospital; unconscious Paige misunderstands Piper's words  
Chapter 6 – Piper and Phoebe decide Paige isn't worth waiting around for  
Chapter 7 – Paige wakes to find her sisters gone; the elder girls and Leo discover the triquetra is broken  
Chapter 8 – Paige is angsty; Piper is pissy; Leo talks to the Elders

* * *

Chapter Nine: Leo and Paige

* * *

Paige leaned against the park bench, slowly lowering herself down onto it. The doctor had released her with nothing more than a prescription for pain medication and a hefty bill. The worst part had been his asking if she had anyone who could take her home – weren't those her sisters at her bedside earlier? She had come up with some half-wit excuse for their not being there anymore and had limped out the doorway on her own.

It wasn't long before she realized that not only did she not have her car, she didn't even have her purse with her anymore. So she couldn't take the bus, and she couldn't even call anyone to come pick her up. Thus her current predicament on the bench.

She drew her knees up to her chest slowly and took a deep, shaky breath. Lost in thought, Paige failed to notice as blue sparkles rained down from the sky and materialized next to her into her brother-in-law.

"Paige," Leo started, calmly.

Paige jumped slightly, her breath leaving her at the unexpected sound. As her wide eyes saw it was only her brother-in-law, she struggled to calm herself and get her breathing back to normal.

"Woah, I didn't mean to scare you," Leo apologized. He looked her over, concern evident on his face. "What happened? Piper and Phoebe said you were fine, but you look more than just a little banged up."

"They said-" Paige hesitated. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine." She stood up abruptly. "Don't worry about me."

Leo jumped up and started to follow her. "Paige wait!" He reached out and grabbed her arm.

Paige gasped slightly and jerked her arm away. "Don't touch me!"

Shock spread across Leo's face as he pondered her reaction. "Paige, I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to hurt you, I just want to heal you and figure out why the power of three is broken."

"The power of-" Paige covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh God. No wonder Piper and Phoebe hate me. Oh God, what have I done?" Paige's face slowly started to crumble into tears. She slid down onto the ground, her back scraping against the rough bark of a tree as she went. She cradled her head in her hands and let the sobs come.

Leo stood, watching in awe, not knowing how to react by this sudden dramatic change in one of his girls. But he soon got a hold of himself and kneeled down gently beside her. Tentatively, he reached his hand out to her. Paige flinched at first, but soon allowed Leo to wrap his comforting arms around her as she cried.

Neither of them knew how long they sat like that before Paige's tears finally subsided. Leo pulled back just a little, just to look at her, questions written all across his face.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"Paige, what happened?" Leo asked softly. She didn't respond. "You need to tell me."

Paige drew in a long and shaky breath. "I got into a fight w-with Piper. It was my fault. I forgot- I don't know, I forgot something she asked me to do." Her voice was so quiet, so small, as she went on. "I went to a club. I was drinking." Leo frowned at this, knowing of his sister-in-law's struggles with alcohol before she had met them "And I met this guy."

Paige's face crumpled again but she managed to regain her composure. "Only he wasn't a guy. He was a demon. He followed me outside and- and into an alley. And he- he said he was going to destroy the Charmed Ones, and that I was the weakest, that he would- break me. And now-" Paige let out a choking sob once again. "Oh God, now Phoebe and Piper can't protect themselves because I'm too weak. Because I let this happen, and I let him-"

Leo didn't like where this was going. Not one bit. But he didn't wait for Paige to finish crying before continuing to question her this time. "Paige, what happened? What aren't you telling me?"

Paige quieted. After a moment she bit her bottom lip thoughtfully, and whispered, "He raped me."

Leo reeled back, as if he had been punched in the face. _Raped? A demon RAPED Paige??_ his thoughts raged inside his head. Then another thought came to his mind: _Why did the girls insist she was okay? The doctor had to have told them. There's no way they couldn't know._

Paige didn't fail to notice Leo's withdrawal. She turned her head from him as he turned inside himself, her heart filled with shame. Leo was just as disgusted by her as her sisters were. She didn't notice as he finally turned back to her, still confused, only now with different questions in his mind.

"Paige-" he started, but she cut him off.

"It's okay, I understand."

This didn't help Leo's confusion at all. "Understand what?"

"That you don't want anything to do with me anymore, any of you," Paige told him, not a trace of doubt in her voice, only pain.

"Paige that's ridiculous! Why would you think that?" Leo was just as shocked as he had been at the girl's first revelation.

"I let everyone down. The power of three is broken, and it's because of me."

"The power of three is broken, but we don't know why," Leo explained. "The Elders don't know why either. And whatever happened – EVERYTHING that happened – none of it was your fault Paige. You didn't do anything wrong. You may be a witch, but you're still only human."

Paige looked up at him, wanting to believe him, wanting to believe her family still loved her. "But Piper said…"

"What did Piper say, Paige?" Leo urged her on.

_Maybe…maybe I just misheard. Maybe I was imagining things._ "Nothing." She shook her head, both as a signal to go along with her word and to clear her thoughts."

Leo took her hand gently into his, and stared right into her eyes, willing her to trust him. "We're going to figure out what's going on. Your sisters love you Paige – you know that. And so do I. We're going to get through this, together."

Salty tears trickled down her cheeks as Paige willed herself to embrace that tiny bit of hope inside her. She didn't say anything, but Leo thought he'd gotten through to her, maybe at least a little.

"Come on, let's orb back to the manor," he told her.

"Are you sure my sisters want to see me?" Paige asked, once more scared of having to face them.

"Of course I am."

But as the blue and white lights began to engulf them both, he heard Piper's venomous voice resounding in his ears: _"We don't go carelessly wandering around in the middle of the night. And even if we did, we would be able to take care of ourselves just fine, unlike our sister."_

He hoped he was right. For the sake of Paige, and for the sake of the Charmed Ones.

* * *

!trumpet blares!

w00t new chapter! heh. obviously it's been awhile so if you guys notice any odd inconsistencies between chapters, please feel free to let me know. also, i'm in school for screenwriting these days, so it's been ages since i've actually written any prose. let me know if it sounds weird or choppy :)

oh yeah and also, no this is not gonna become paige/leo shippy, so don't worry.

love to all of you!


	10. In the Attic

Yeah that's right bitches, two chapters in one year. Hahhaha. And hopefully more to come! Honestly, your interest is what makes me write. If there's no interest, it's hard to find motivation, since I'm working on so many other (non-fanfic) things now. You guys know how it is.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and thanks to everyone who reviewed!

* * *

Chapter Ten: In the Attic

* * *

"Well, somehow Wyatt is magically sleeping," Piper sighed as she entered the attic.  
"Well, not- magically, but- oh you know what I mean." She walked over to where Phoebe was flipping through the Book of Shadows. "Find anything yet?"

"No." Phoebe paused. "I'm not sure what exactly you think we're going to find anyway."

"Oh I don't know, but we can't just sit around defenseless and doing nothing," Piper replied. Phoebe nodded and went back to the book.

It wasn't long before the all-too-familiar blue sparkles signaled the entrance of Leo once again. He appeared at the attic door, Paige behind him, looking unsure but somehow hopeful.

"Leo, where have you been?" Piper demanded gently. "Do the Elders know anything?"

"They didn't even know the Power of Three was broken," he explained. "But they're working on trying to figure out what's going on."

"So in the meantime, basically, we're completely vulnerable to any and all demon attacks," Phoebe concluded.

"It would look that way," conceded Leo. He stood silently after that, waiting for the older Halliwell sisters to make some inevitable acknowledgement of Paige. Paige, in the meantime, stayed in her position slightly behind Leo.

Phoebe continued looking through the Book, and Piper simply shook her head in annoyance with the ever-useless Elders.

"Um, do you guys want any help with anything?" Leo glanced at Paige as she finally spoke, ever-so-quietly, slightly surprised both that she had made the first move towards conversation with the sisters, and that this had been the first thing out of her mouth.

Phoebe didn't even look up. "No."

Paige flinched slightly at her beloved sister's rash dismissal of her offer.

"Wh-" she started.

"I think we're better qualified to handle this on our own," Piper added, choosing to look Paige directly in the eyes, unlike Phoebe. "Why don't you just go…I don't know, just try to stay out of trouble, okay?" Her words were not kind, or well-intentioned. They were exasperated, and cold.

Paige scooted farther back towards the door, almost unconsciously. She didn't know what was going on.

Neither did Leo.

"Girls," he started, addressing Piper and Phoebe. "I think Paige has something to tell you." He shot a comforting look at Paige, urging her to speak. He wasn't sure it was his place to bring this up, but he didn't want to see the sisters acting so cold to her when they clearly didn't know what she had been through. Right?

Phoebe sighed and momentarily looked up from her search. Piper raised her eyebrows impatiently, waiting for Paige to spit out whatever was so important.

Paige cleared her throat, still quiet and nervous. "When I was out last night, at the club," she started, "I met this guy." She faltered, but gathered herself together and went on, her words slow and halted. "We were dancing and I gave him my number. He said he had to tell me something, so we went off to an alley and he-"

"He turned into a demon and raped you," Piper finished impatiently. "We know Paige."

Paige recoiled at her sister's continued harshness. Leo's calm blue eyes filled with evident shock.

"I just don't understand how you could be so careless," Phoebe agreed in a normal tone. "You've put us all in so much danger. You've put the world in so much danger, for that matter."

She hadn't imagined it, any of it. Her sisters hated her. They blamed her for everything. Leo was wrong. Of course he was wrong. How could they not blame her? Look what she had done!

Breathing no longer seemed to be much of an option for Paige as these thoughts ran through her mind. Leo tried to calm her, but he couldn't this time, and it didn't take long before her eyes rolled upwards and her lids fluttered closed, and all he could do was catch her as she fell.

Gently lifting her up and carrying her to the sofa, Leo's ears caught the sound of a sigh of disgust coming from one of the other girls. He laid Paige down and whirled back around.

"What the hell is wrong with the two of you?" he demanded furiously, noticing they had once again gone back to the Book of Shadows. "THIS IS YOUR SISTER. SHE WAS RAPED. WHY does that suddenly mean nothing to you??" He grabbed Piper's arm as he finished, forcing her to look at him.

A flash of sincerity, of sorrow and pain, flittered across her face. Her brow wrinkled and she looked confused. Piper opened her mouth to speak, but just as suddenly as the change had come, it was lost again.

"Let go of me." Piper yanked her arm out of Leo's grasp and turned back to Phoebe, unwilling to explain to her husband what she and her sister had already said a hundred times – Paige was a fuck up, and she'd let them down.

"And stop looking through that damn book!" he yelled. "The problem is here, with Paige. What could you possibly be looking for!"

"We're looking for a spell to bring our sister back," Piper retorted.

"No spell is going to bring Paige back – she needs you, here!" Leo exclaimed.

"Look at her, Leo!" Phoebe gestured to the motionless girl sleeping fitfully nearby. "If we want the Power of Three back, we need Prue. Paige is…Paige is nothing."

Leo stood in shock. Utter, and total shock. None of this made sense, at all.

"I don't know who you are, but you are not Phoebe. And you are NOT Piper," Leo stated, quiet but firm. He walked back to Paige and rested his hand on her shoulder. And just as they had entered, they were gone.

* * *

And there you have it!

I would ALSO like to say this: THIS WILL BE THE LAST CHAPTER YOU GUYS WILL GET UNTIL WYAROSE UPDATES HER ONE TREE HILL FAN FIC, SNOWFLAKE. So review my story yes, but get on her case to update as well :-) I'm playing dirty. I know. But a girl needs her reading material.

Oh also, I am gonna start an OTH fic of my own in the next couple days, so if you are interested in reading that, be sure to author-alert me. Loves!


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